Hidden Palace Zone The Fated Encounter
by SilentJ43
Summary: This is a re-telling of the original events of Sonic & Knuckles, adding dialogue to an otherwise completely silent scene. It stays very true to the original, but I used a bit of my own creativity and changed things just a tiny bit. Sonic Fans - enjoy!


Hidden Palace Zone - The Fated Encounter

by SilentJ43

Notes: This is not entirely an original fanfiction. It is a re-telling of the events of Sonic & Knuckles, in particular, the events which occur while in Hidden Palace Zone. It starts right at the end of the boss battle at Lava Reef Zone, Act III. (And I took out the part where the ground collapses, that was just plain stupid.)

...

"And take that!" shouted the blue hedgehog, leaping over yet another mine, which flowed quickly along the surface of the magma until it collided with the mad doctor's latest supposedly "impenetrable" machine. At this point, the mine-shooting fortress had taken its last hit and started to fall apart.

"Curse you, hedgehog!" screamed Dr. Robotnik, as he ejected his egg cruiser from the mangled mound of metal, now slowly sinking into the lava. "That was my greatest machine yet, and you still managed to ruin it for me!"

"Well, better make it stronger next time!" mocked Sonic, legs crossed and standing casually now on a small rock floating in the lava. "And make sure not to blow it up yourself, either!"

The doctor glared at Sonic, his glasses flashing with anger. "You know I'll be back, hedgehog, and this time, things will be different! I've got a whole new weapon I'm planning to use!" The doctor seemed very sure of himself, and smirked, but Sonic was unphased.

"I'll be looking forward to it, egg man!" replied Sonic, smiling as the doctor flew away in his tiny escape vehicle, a sight he'd already seen countless times. The doctor grumbled faintly as he faded into the darkness of the caves, but Sonic could make out a sentence: "If he keeps calling me that, it's going to be my new name in no time..."

The lava around sonic began to cool quickly as the hot lights of the Death Egg faded from the high ceiling. Sonic looked around briefly and found one of the usual prison chambers. Sonic hopped on top to release the cells, and a dozen or more smaller furry animals popped out of it. "Go on, guys, be free..." said Sonic in a calm voice, as the animals were once again reunited with their natural habitat. A few of the animals cuddled up against Sonic's leg before scurrying off out of sight. "Well now that that's done, It's time to find a way outta here!"

Sonic noticed a small cave to his right, and without hesitation, picked up his heels and began racing down the tunnel. As Sonic dashed through the darkness, some ancient writings and images began to appear on the walls. "Hmm, this is definitely some old artwork," observed Sonic, glancing to the side. "If these are from Knuckles' tribe, then I'm definitely on the right path. I guess Tails wasn't wrong after all!"

Sonic suddenly began to feel uneasy. He knew that if he was encroaching on the echidna's sacred grounds, there was a good chance he'd meet up with Knuckles again. Knuckles had set up countless traps for Sonic throughout his quest on the island, and never seemed to give Sonic a break. "That red idiot... he's almost as annoying as the egg man himself!" Sonic grumbled to himself for a bit, but then remembered that it technically wasn't Knuckles' fault, and that the echidna had actually been tricked by Dr. Robotnik. He decided that he'd give Knuckles another chance in case they met up once again.

At that moment, a light began to appear at the end of the tunnel. Sonic dashed forwards until he reached the exit and stopped to observe where he'd ended up. "Woah, this place is incredible!" The Hidden Palace was an amazing place, with tribal imagery and glorious architecture everywhere to be seen. The place looked like it was long abandoned, but the walls and floors still shimmered with the light of chaos energy. "This whole place must have been originally powered by the Master E-- WOAH!"

Suddenly and without warning, a spring from the floor shot Sonic up towards an arch. Sonic was caught by surprise, but quickly regained his balance and flipped twice in the air before landing perfectly on top of the arch. "Ha ha, still got it!" complimented the hedgehog, to himself, with a grin. "Time to find that giant jewel!" Sonic leapt up the ledges on the walls an began to scale the chamber, spinning like a wheel as he went.

Sonic eventually arrived at a huge room, with a large and fascinating mural on the wall. "Wow..." remarked Sonic, as he stopped to observe the ancient masterpiece. It looked like a painting of a prophecy. It showed what appeared to be a glowing hedgehog, surrounded by yellow flames, following a mechanical robot of sorts, clutching in its hands a giant emerald. Sonic smiled, amazed by the resemblance. "That big dude looks just like one of Robotnik's robots, and that's definitely the Master Emerald he's got. Heck, If I didn't know any better, I'd say that this whole painting is--"

"--None of your business!" The voice boomed from the shadows to the right of Sonic, and Sonic quickly turned his head, clenching his fists. A figure slowly walked, emerging from the shadows. It was a red echidna with dreadlocks, a white ring around his neck, and menacing purple eyes. He was carrying a large stone column in his right hand and had an expression of disgust on his face. "So you've come all the way here, to my tribe's sacred grounds, just to get your hands on my emerald, eh? Well, if you thought it was going to be that easy, you can think again!" The figure came to a stop, and leaned to the side under the weight of the column. It was Knuckles, and he was pissed off.

"Knuckles, come on, dude!" pleaded Sonic, nervously. "I'm not here to take that thing! I've been trying to tell you that this whole time!"

"Choose your words carefully hedgehog, you don't have many left," scoffed Knuckles defiantly. "That doctor may have been able to fool me, but you can't. I know you two have been trying to steal my emerald this whole time. Dr. Robotnik originally told me he would help me stop you, but it's become painfully clear to me you two are in competition over the same goal. Neither of you are going to steal the Master Emerald as long as I'm alive!"

"No, Knuckles!" persisted Sonic. "He's the bad guy! I'm the one who's trying to stop him! You've gotta believe me, I'm being honest! We have to join forces and stop Dr. Robotnik!"

"Save it, liar!" retorted Knuckles. "I've heard it all already. And besides, what were you doing with all those emeralds back at Angel Grove? All of those seven Chaos Emeralds originally belonged to our tribe before they were stolen ages ago, and all that's left is the Master Emerald. All the more reason for you to come for it!"

Sonic felt embarrassed at the situation and stared at his feet. He'd been collecting the Chaos Emeralds for a long time just to stop Dr. Robotnik from getting them, but there was no way Knuckles was going to believe that now. "I don't know what to say..." muttered Sonic, frustrated.

"It doesn't matter at this point." announced Knuckles, angrily. "The time for talking is over. You can turn now, and run away, or you can die!" With this, the echidna suddenly tossed the column high into the air, to Sonic's surprise. As the column began to fall back down towards Knuckles, he raised his fist and delivered a devastating punch to the column, exploding it and spraying thousands of small pieces of rock all over the room. Sonic gulped. "So, which is it, hedgehog?" asked Knuckles.

Sonic steadied his nerves, put his arms at his sides and stared Knuckles in the eyes. "I know the truth behind what's going on here," stated Sonic, with confidence in his eyes. "...and if you aren't gonna believe me, that's too bad. I'm gonna save this island from Dr. Robotnik, even if that means I have to save you from yourself!"

"You're not fooling anyone, Hedgehog!" stated Knuckles, as he clenched his fists and assumed a fighting stance. "I've guarded this emerald ever since I was a child, and I'll do so for the rest of my life! Today is not an exception!"

With this, the echidna leaped into the air and began to glide towards Sonic with his fists out. Sonic didn't know exactly how to respond to this, and stared in disbelief. "See this, hedgehog?" questioned Knuckles. "This is the power of my clan: I can fly for short distances without the need for any wings!"

Sonic thought about his fox friend who had the ability to fly quite well using his two tails, and almost retorted back at the Echidna's claim, but decided this wasn't the time. As the echidna came closer to Sonic, he dashed out of the way and let the echidna drop down to an empty space on the hard marble floor. "Grrr... where'd that hedgehog go?" grumbled Knuckles, as Sonic had apparently vanished.

Suddenly, Sonic's foot came crashing down on the back of Knuckles' head. "OOF!" exclaimed the echidna, who was caught by surprise. "Damn you!"

"Sure, you can fly..." commented Sonic, now standing behind Knuckles, who was rubbing his sore head. "But you'll need to be fast if you wanna keep up with me!"

"Oh, so you want speed?" replied Knuckles, with a smirk. "Then you've got it!" With this, Knuckles began to roll into a ball and spin rapidly.

"Ah! You can do that?" asked Sonic in disbelief. This was the Spin Dash. To his previous knowledge, Sonic had only ever known himself and Tails to be capable of this technique. Sonic understood this move's weakness however, and backed up against the wall.

"Hope you're ready, hedgehog..." said Knuckles in an anxious voice, now spinning very quickly. "Cause here I come!" Knuckles then launched forwards at an incredible speed, like a tire that had just broken off a speeding race car. At the last second, Sonic leaped into the air over Knuckles, allowing the rolling red ball to crash into the wall. Knuckles laid on the ground for a moment, crumpled and dizzy, as Sonic landed at the other side of the room.

"Haha, nice try," laughed Sonic. "It's a good technique, but it really needs some work, you know?"

"Argh..." groaned Knuckles, as he once again rose to his feet and steadied himself. "I'm done fooling around, hedgehog!" Knuckles leaped into the air again, higher this time, and began to glide like he did before.

"Hey, what's up?" said Sonic, a bit puzzled. "You already tried that one didn't you? Uhh..."

To Sonic's surprise, Knuckles was high above Sonic and about to glide over his head. Sonic was dumbfounded. Suddenly and without warning, Knuckles stopped in midair and fell, landing behind Sonic. Before the hedgehog could react, Knuckles punched him hard in the back, making Sonic fly forwards several feet before landing on his stomach. Sonic cried out in agony.

"See, hedgehog?" said Knuckles, looking proud. "That's what working out every minute of every day does for you."

Sonic's limbs were shaking from the pain. He tried to bear it, and stood up again slowly. His back made cracking noises as he straightened the rest of his limbs. Knuckles stood with his arms crossed accusingly. "Come on, is that any way to put up a fight?"

"Urgh..." struggled Sonic, trying to shake himself off as best he could. "As long as there's a world to save, I'm never giving up!"

"That's what I like to hear, hedgehog!" remarked Knuckles, with a menacing grin. "In case that last punch wasn't enough for you, here's another!" Knuckles then started running towards Sonic with his fist raised.

Sonic looked down, frustrated at his own shaking legs. "Come on... I can do this, I can do this!" he repeated to himself, as he prepared a plan in his head.

Just as Knuckles was about to pound Sonic, the hedgehog leaped into the air using the last of his strength and vanished into the darkness above them. "Argh, what?" complained Knuckles, now puzzled. "Get down from there, you rat!"

Suddenly, and to Knuckles' surprise, a brick came falling down from the ceiling and landed square in the middle of his forehead, causing him to yell out in pain and collapse to the floor. Sonic dropped down, and landed in a crouched position, breathing heavily.

"Seems your ceiling had a few tiles loose," commented Sonic, who appeared to be the battle's victor. Sonic stood up tall and began to regain his strength, and started walking away, leaving the echidna to quiver on the ground.

Before Sonic could take three steps, however, Knuckles began to rise from the ground and dust himself off. His forehead was bleeding and one of his eyes was twitching, but beyond that, the echidna appeared to be unharmed. Knuckles then tilted his head back and began to laugh. Sonic's mouth dropped open, and then he stared at his feet, hopelessly. "Darn it! Is there any way to beat this guy?"

Just then, a large crumbling sound came from the walls and several more tiles fell from the ceiling, landing around the two fighters. "No way! It can't be!" said Knuckles, in a panicked voice, who then rushed right past Sonic down a corridor that looked like it lead into some sort of glowing room.

"Hey, hey, hey!" complained Sonic, sounding anxious. "That's my job!" The hedgehog picked up his feet and chased after Knuckles as fast as he could manage, finally arriving at the large, glowing chamber.

Sonic couldn't believe his eyes. There was Dr. Robotnik, in a new flying machine which was currently in the process of dislodging the Master Emerald from its pedestal. Knuckles was standing close by, shaking his fist and yelling all sorts of curses at the mad genius.

"You fat, greedy liar!" said Knuckles, enraged at the man's bold actions. "I told you never to come here!"

"Oh, and did you really think I would listen?" questioned Dr. Robotnik, amused. "I need this thing to power the Death Egg, after all!" Dr. Robotnik's machine quickly finished its job and began to lift off, carrying the Master Emerald with it.

"No!" screamed Knuckles, who then jumped up and clutched onto the emerald, clueless and unaware of any method to pry it loose. "I've guarded this emerald for my whole life, and I'm not going to let you steal it from me! If you do take it, you're taking me with you!" Knuckles tugged hopelessly at the machine; the emerald wouldn't budge.

"Sorry, Knuckles, but I don't take hitch hikers!" said Dr. Robotnik with an evil grin. Sonic stared on, almost paralyzed as robotic tentacles began to emerge from the machine. They sparked with electricity, and began to inch toward Knuckles' body.

"No!" screamed Sonic, aware of Knuckles' naivety. "Knuckles, you have to get down from there! He's going to kill you!"

"I don't care who's side you're on, hedgehog!" said Knuckles defiantly. "I will never let go!"

Just then, the tentacles made contact with Knuckles' shoulders and began to send tens of thousands of volts through his body. Robotnik laughed maniacally as the echidna cried in agony, still holding on. Sonic clenched his fists and gritted his teeth with rage.

"You fat, bald bastard!" yelled Sonic, as he crouched down and then launched himself at the emerald-thieving aircraft, spinning like a circular saw. He crashed into the machine and loosened a few screws, but the machine kept lifting off. Knuckles was still clutching the emerald, screaming as he was being electrocuted.

"Stop it!!!!" yelled Sonic, and he launched himself at the machine again, to no avail. Robotnik was becoming a bit frustrated with this, but soon, Knuckles could no longer bear the electricity and fell to the ground, motionless. Sonic panted heavily and stared hopelessly at the machine, as it flew away, Dr. Robotnik shrieking with laughter.

"Hahaha! You're never going to believe what I can do with this thing!" yelled Dr. Robotnik, now too far away for Sonic to reach. "Make sure to drop by and see the launch of my Death Egg, it's sure to be a grand event!" With that, Dr. Robotnik's machine flew up and out of the palace, through a tall shaft that looked impossible to climb. Knuckles' body was laying on the ground, completely motionless.

Sonic fell to his knees and tears started to form in his eyes. "Damn it... he's finally won." Sonic's hands were shaking, and it felt as if the world was crashing down on him. Sonic was miserable and had no idea what do do. He knew that it would be only a matter of days before Dr. Robotnik would take over the entire planet.

Suddenly, Knuckles began to cough and shake. Sonic looked to the side to see him sit up and begin to shake himself off. "Damn that fat man!" grumbled Knuckles, shaking his fists.

"Oh," remarked Sonic, not especially amused. "Well at least you're okay. You're not gonna try and bop me again, are you?"

"I've learned something, hedgehog" said Knuckles, in a serious tone. "You really weren't lying. I could tell during our fight that you were holding back, and I saw the way you tried to help me out when that machine shocked me. It's like you said one of those times, you really are a compassionate hero. I was wrong."

Sonic was incredibly relieved to hear that the echidna has finally come to his senses, but was still worried about their current situation. "Well, I'm glad to hear you've come around, buddy. But the egg man's still got your emerald, and now he's gonna use it to take over the world!"

"Humph!" grunted Knuckles, defiantly. "Not on my watch. Did you see where he went?"

Sonic wasn't quite sure how to say it. "Uhhhh, he went to the sky."

Knuckles raised one eyebrow. "The sky, eh?" He questioned, seeming interested. "Well, lucky for us, there are some ancient floating ruins around here that extend into the sky. If we get going now, we might still be able to catch him. We'll use a teleporter."

"Woah, a teleporter?" These weren't exactly new to Sonic, but it was surprising to him that ancient technology was capable of this. Even Tails would have been surprised. "You sure we can actually do that?"

"Yeah, it's been covered up for ages, but it'll still work." said Knuckles, assuredly. Knuckles started to stand up, and began to shake. "Man, that machine really did a number on me," he said, breathing heavily. Sonic helped Knuckles stand up. He could tell that the echidna was at his limit.

Knuckles slowly escorted Sonic to a particular spot on a blank wall. "Well, it's right around here," said Knuckles, who then surprisingly easily punched a hole in the wall, revealing a small room that had a machine inside of it. The machine consisted of a large pearl-like orb surrounded by metal casing.

"So, this thing's gonna shoot us up into the sky?" asked Sonic, curiously. "but the Master Emerald's gone, so how's it gonna work?"

"Don't worry," said Knuckles. "As long as the Master Emerald exists somewhere, this old stuff will still work." He then placed his hand on the pearl-like orb, which lit up. The metal casing started to spin, making an odd noise. Several seconds later, a beam of light shot out of the orb into a receptor on the ceiling.

"Okay, this beam is our ticket outta here!" stated Knuckles, getting ready to jump. "Just jump into the beam after I do, It'll take us to the Sky Sanctuary." Knuckles then jumped into the beam. He spun very quickly in midair for a moment, then he disappeared in a flash.

"Okay, here goes!" said Sonic, and then he followed Knuckles into the beam, disappearing several seconds later. The two would then arrive at Sky Sanctuary Zone, where Sonic would run ahead of Knuckles and catch up to the launching Death Egg in time to jump aboard it and stop Dr. Robotnik before he could take over the world. Everything would eventually go back to the way it was before, and the Master Emerald would be safely returned.

Continued in Sonic & Knuckles, Sky Sanctuary Zone

(No, I'm not making another Sonic fanfic.)


End file.
